Pokémon playmats for the trading card game

These Pokémon playmats belong to the TCG Playmats collection and are made for one game: the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Each one has a micro-woven cloth play surface, a neoprene top layer and a non-slip natural rubber base, 3 mm thick in total, with double-stitched edges all the way around. The artwork is printed edge to edge in high resolution, the print is fade-resistant, and every mat is printed to order.

For size, you have two choices. A single-player mat measures 24″ × 14″ (61.5 × 35.5 cm), the standard size for one player's half of a Pokémon game. A two-player mat measures 24″ × 28″ (60 × 70 cm), so you and your opponent share one surface. The product page for each design tells you which sizes and layouts it comes in.

Why a Pokémon game spreads across the table

A Pokémon game uses more pieces than its 60-card deck suggests. You set aside six Prize cards, put one Pokémon in the Active Spot and up to five on your Bench, attach Energy and Tools, evolve Basic Pokémon into Stage 1 and Stage 2 by stacking cards, and track damage with counters worth 10 each. A Stadium card can sit between the two players, coin flips settle all sorts of effects, and Poisoned and Burned Pokémon need markers of their own.

Spread across a bare table, that is a lot of small things to keep an eye on. A mat gives the Bench a straight line, the Prizes a fixed corner and the discard pile a spot that never wanders. The game moves faster, and you can check your opponent's board in one look instead of asking.

Prize cards in staggered pairs

On the zoned Pokémon layout, the six Prize cards sit down the left side in three overlapping pairs, each pair offset like a small fan of cards. That arrangement does two jobs. You can count your remaining Prizes from across the table without touching them, and when you take one after a Knock Out, the gap it leaves is obvious to both players.

Prize cards stay face down, and nobody looks at them until they are taken, so that corner barely changes during a game. It is the calmest part of the mat. Art with a face or a logo at the far left will be hidden under Prize cards for most of the game, so if you want to see the subject while you play, look for a design that keeps it elsewhere. Remember that some Pokémon give up two or more Prizes when they are Knocked Out, so the column can empty faster than you expect.

The Active Spot, the Bench and evolution

Your Active Spot holds the Pokémon doing the fighting. On the zoned layout it sits in the top row near the middle, facing the attacker across the table. The Bench runs below it as a row of five frames, one for each Benched Pokémon the rules allow. Retreating or switching moves a card between those two rows, and on cloth that is a single slide instead of a lift and a drop.

Evolution stacks cards on top of each other: a Stage 1 goes on its Basic, a Stage 2 on the Stage 1, with attached Energy and Tools tucked underneath. Those stacks get thick, and on a smooth table they splay when you push them. On cloth they stay squared, and the frame outlines give each stack a clear edge so the Energy peeking out from under it stays easy to read.

Stadium cards: shared ground

A Stadium affects both players, and only one can be in play at a time: when a new Stadium comes down, the old one goes to its owner's discard pile. The zoned layout gives it a frame in the top row beside the Active Spot, close to the middle of the table where both players can read it.

When both players use zoned mats, agree before the game which Stadium frame you will use, or simply play the card on its owner's side. On a two-player mat, the line between the two halves is a natural home for a Stadium that belongs to the whole table.

Deck, discard and the cards set aside

The deck and the Discard Pile share a column on the right, one above the other, so drawing and discarding happen with the same hand. In the Pokémon TCG the discard pile is a resource rather than a graveyard you can forget: plenty of Trainer cards fetch Energy and Pokémon back from it, and either player may look through both discard piles. A frame with clear edges keeps it squared and easy to spread for a quick check.

Some cards send things to the Lost Zone instead, a pile that is out of play for good. If your deck uses them, keep the Lost Zone well apart from the discard pile, above the mat or off to one side, so the two never mix.

Counters, coins and Special Conditions

Pokémon keeps its damage on the table rather than on paper. Each damage counter stands for 10 damage, and plenty of players use dice for the bigger totals. Special Conditions add more: a Poisoned or Burned Pokémon gets a marker, an Asleep Pokémon is turned counterclockwise, a Paralyzed one clockwise and a Confused one upside down. Those turns need space around the Active Spot, so leave a little room when you place it.

Then there are coins. A coin flipped onto a hard table can bounce off the edge or roll under a deck; on cloth it lands quietly and stays where it falls. Keep counters, markers and coins in a small dish beside the mat when they're not in use, so they don't drift into your Prize cards or onto the Bench.

Standard, Expanded and kitchen-table decks

The Pokémon TCG has two main constructed formats. Standard uses recent cards, identified by the regulation mark letter printed near the bottom of each card, and rotates as older marks drop out. Expanded reaches further back, to the Black & White series, and keeps a much larger card pool. Plenty of people play neither: theme decks against a friend, old binders at the kitchen table or draft games after opening a box together.

The mat doesn't change with the format. Every version of the game is played on the same board of Active Spot, Bench, Prizes, deck and discard pile. What changes is the art you might want. A Standard player may choose a look from the newest era, while someone sleeving up cards from the early sets may want the softer colors of the classic illustrations.

Energy types and the color of a mat

Pokémon types come with colors players know on sight: green Grass, red Fire, blue Water, yellow Lightning, purple Psychic, brown Fighting, black Darkness and silver Metal. Your deck already has a palette before you choose a mat, and you can lean into it or play against it.

Leaning in makes the table feel like one deck: a Fire deck on embers and volcanic rock, a Water deck on open sea, a Grass deck in a forest clearing. Playing against it helps readability. Yellow Lightning Energy pops on deep blue, and green Grass Energy reads clearly on warm earth tones. Whichever way you go, look hard at the area behind the Active Spot. That is where you read HP, attack costs and damage counters all game, so art that is calm there and busy elsewhere is easier to play on.

From League Challenges to Regionals

Play! Pokémon events start at local stores with League Challenges and League Cups and climb through Regional and International Championships to the World Championships. Most events allow artwork playmats, with or without zones; check the rules for your event before a competitive day, especially if your mat has large printed text.

A Regional Championship is a long day of rounds, and your mat is your workspace for all of it. Roll it with the art facing out, slip it into a tube or a bag along with your deck box and spare sleeves, and it opens flat on whichever table you are assigned. Keep drinks away from it on crowded tables; the cloth washes easily afterward, but a spill in the middle of a round is still a spill.

Teaching new trainers

For a child or a friend learning the game, a zoned mat is a patient teacher. The labels answer the usual first-game questions, such as where the Prize cards go and how many Pokémon fit on the Bench, before anyone has to ask. Cards are 63 × 88 mm, small for young hands, and cloth lets a beginner push them into place instead of picking them up and dropping them.

The two-player mat, 24″ × 28″ (60 × 70 cm), works well for those first games. Parent and child, or an older sibling and a younger one, sit on either side of one surface, and the teacher can reach across to point at a zone without crossing a gap between two mats. It rolls up into one bundle afterward, so family game night has one less thing to put away.

Picking a Pokémon layout and size

Every design's product page shows the layouts and sizes it is made in. Here is what each option suits.

Layout or size	Good for
With zones	First games, younger players and keeping Prizes and Bench in order
Without zones	Experienced players who want the art uncovered
Single-player, 24″ × 14″ (61.5 × 35.5 cm)	League Cups, Regionals and carrying to the store
Two-player, 24″ × 28″ (60 × 70 cm)	Family games and teaching on one surface

If you have artwork of your own, a drawing or a photo, Padrift can print it as a custom playmat too, with zones or without.

Pokémon playmat gifts

A playmat suits a Pokémon player at any stage: a first mat for someone with a brand-new deck, or a fresh one for a player whose old mat has seen a few seasons. If you know the type they play most, a palette built on that type is an easy choice. Making takes 1–3 business days; after that the mat ships from Turkey, and US delivery is usually another 2–5 business days.

Washing a Pokémon mat

Young players mean juice, crumbs and sticky fingers, so plan on washing now and then. A hand wash in cold water with mild soap is the gentle option, and a machine on a gentle, cold cycle works too. Rinse out the soap, then dry the mat flat in the air, with no bleach and no iron. Store it rolled in its tube or bag rather than folded in a drawer. If it comes out of storage with a curl, lay it flat on the table for a while and it will settle.

A note on names

Padrift is an independent studio. Pokémon, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Play! Pokémon and the names of Pokémon, cards and events are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures, Game Freak and The Pokémon Company, used here only to describe what our playmats are for. Padrift is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by any of them.